


You Know You Love Me

by kjack89



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gossip Girl, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Gossip Girl AU, High School, Implied/Referenced Anxiety, Implied/Referenced Mental Breakdown, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 02:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1328530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/kjack89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spotted: Enjolras at the Gare du Nord, signature red jacket and all. Paris's resident revolutionary teenager was absent all summer. Where's he been? And will E ever notice Lonely Boy?</p><p>And who I am? That's one secret I'll never tell.</p><p>You know you love me. XOXO,<br/>Gossip Girl</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Know You Love Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [takemetoyourglory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/takemetoyourglory/gifts).



> Nominally set in Paris, though my knowledge of Parisian high schools is based predominantly on what I learned from Wikipedia, so my apologies to my French readers. As with most of my crackier AUs, very little knowledge of the source material is needed to understand what's going on here.
> 
> Usual disclaimer: I own none of the source material and only what came from my convoluted mind.

_Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Paris’s elite._

_Spotted: Enjolras at the Gare du Nord, signature red jacket and all. Paris’s resident revolutionary teenager was absent all summer. Where’s he been? Rumor says relaxing on his parents’ yacht, but those in the know claim he was sent away to military school to get his act in order._

_Either way, with Paris’s king troublemaker back in town, things are sure to get exciting. How will C & C handle E’s return?  What shocking events does E have planned for this year? Where’s he _really _been?_

_And will E ever notice Lonely Boy?_

_And who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell._

_You know you love me._

_XOXO,  
Gossip Girl_

Enjolras looked down at his phone and snorted, clicking absently through the ‘Gossip Girl’ alert that had just popped up. He was going to  _kill_  Courfeyrac for installing that app. Speak of the Devil, his phone rang with Courfeyrac calling. “Five minutes,” Enjolras said in lieu of greeting, hefting his bag into a better position on his shoulder. “I’ve been back for five minutes and I’m already front-page news on Gossip Girl. Did you guys do  _anything_  while I’ve been gone?”

“Well, hello to you, too,” Courfeyrac said, far too cheerfully. “If I were you, I’d be more concerned about what Combeferre and I are going to do now that you’re back in town, O King Troublemaker.”

Enjolras scowled and brushed a blond curl out his face, shouldering through the crowd at the train station. “Firstly, you  _should_  be concerned about handling my return if you continue using monarchical terms to describe me. Secondly, I assume you and Combeferre are going to carry on like you always do. For Christ’s sake, it isn’t like Les Amis is a dictatorship, and—”

Courfeyrac interrupted loudly. “Yes, yes, we know. Forgive me for some light teasing after not seeing you for over two months.” He hesitated before asking, “How are you, by the way?”

“Fine,” Enjolras said, a little curtly. “Ready to get back to work.”

After a brief pause, Courfeyrac said, back to his usual cheerful self, “Well, we’ve got things completely planned for your return party, King of—”

Enjolras hung up on him, pausing only to text Courfeyrac [I did warn you not to call me ‘king’. See you at the Musain tonight]. Then he continued heading through the train station so he could catch a cab home (ordinarily, Enjolras disdained any kind of transportation not reserved for the masses, but in this case, his parents had insisted, and after everything…).

Suddenly, someone ran into him, causing Enjolras to drop his bag and his phone. “Oh, shit,” the person said, quickly stooping to pick up Enjolras’s stuff and hand it to him. “Here you go, I’m—”

“Grantaire?”

The guy looked up at Enjolras, eyes wide. “Oh, hey, Enjolras,” Grantaire said, a little weakly. “Sorry to run into you. Didn’t, uh, didn’t see you there.”

Enjolras smiled slightly and shrugged. “Not a big deal.” He looked at Grantaire curiously. “What are you doing here?”

Grantaire looked equal parts embarrassed and guilty before quickly telling Enjolras, “Oh, you know, last day of summer, last day to do all the lazy things that I like to do.” At Enjolras’s raised eyebrow, Grantaire elaborated, “Like, you know, people-watch and sketch?”

He held up his sketchbook as proof and Enjolras nodded, though he still didn’t look fully convinced. Instead, he changed the subject. “Ready for our last year at school?”

“About as ready as I can be,” Grantaire told him with his usual self-deprecating half-smirk. “Of course, my dad will be forever disappointed that I’m at the ASP and won’t be sitting for my bac S.”

Enjolras frowned. “The International Baccalaureate Diploma isn’t good enough for him?” he asked, before adding, “Besides, I can’t see you sitting for a bac S anyway — I wasn’t under the impression you really cared for math or science?”

Grantaire’s eyes widened. “And I wasn’t under the impression you knew that much about my studies or preferences,” he said, blushing slightly. Before Enjolras could answer that, Grantaire shrugged and said, “He always wanted me to go into mathematics. Just another way that I have proven an ample disappointment.” Then he cleared his throat, evidently considering the subject closed. “What about you? No bac ES for you — aren’t you parents going to be  _devastated_?”

“Hardly,” Enjolras said sourly. “This plays right into what my father wants for me, loading up on AP and IB classes and getting into a school in America for a degree in something respectable, like economics, and then getting my MBA so I can come back and work for my father.”

Glancing at Enjolras again, Grantaire hazarded, “And I’ll take it that this isn’t so much what you want?”

“Of course not,” Enjolras snapped, glaring at Grantaire. “You know that I want to  _change_  the world, not be a part of the capitalist system currently destroying it!” Instead of looking taken aback at Enjolras’s words, Grantaire mostly looked amused, and Enjolras huffed a sigh. “Not that I’d expect  _you_ to understand. For years you’ve been sitting in our meetings and never once have I heard you offer a constructive comment.”

Grantaire mock-gasped and said in scandalized tones, “That is patently untrue! Last year when you all were ordering t-shirts, I commented that the red text did not go with the purple shirt. And I was right, and the shirts turned out lovely.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “Sure, the shirts turned out fine, but you didn’t even bother buying one!’

Grantaire smirked. “Noticed that, did you?”

“Of course. I notice lots of things.” Enjolras bit his lip as if debating over whether or not to say what he was about to, but finally blurted, “Who’s Lonely Boy?”

“I’m sorry?” Grantaire asked, glancing over at Enjolras, who blushed slightly but nodded towards Grantaire’s phone.

“I know you read Gossip Girl — God only knows why, but  _everyone_  seems to read Gossip Girl — so I thought you might know who this ‘Lonely Boy’ is.” He shrugged. “Apparently the question is whether I’ll notice him?”

Grantaire smiled vacantly as he looked down at his phone, rapidly sending a text message while telling Enjolras, “I think the bigger question is what destruction you have in store for Paris this year.”

Scowling, Enjolras started hotly, “I have hardly wrought destruction on Paris, merely—”, but he was interrupted from a simultaneous ping on both his cell phone and Grantaire’s, and he clicked on the alert to read:

_Spotted: E and Lonely Boy, actually talking for once. Oh, Lonely Boy. We can smell the pining from here._

Enjolras looked up at Grantaire, who was blushing furiously. “Wait,” Enjolras said slowly. “ _You’re_  Lonely Boy?”

If possible, Grantaire’s blush deepened, and he looked pointedly away from Enjolras as he mumbled, “I have to go”, darting off into the crowd and leaving Enjolras staring after him.

* * *

 

Whatever Enjolras thought about the revelation that Grantaire was the ‘Lonely Boy’ that Gossip Girl referred to, it was quickly put from his mind when he met up with Combeferre and Courfeyrac at the Musain after dropping his stuff off at home. And despite Gossip Girl’s dire prediction, Combeferre and Courfeyrac were nothing but excited to see him, glad to have the third part of the triumvirate back.

Well, if Gossip Girl was wrong about that, then surely sure could be wrong about ‘Lonely Boy’, too.

As such, he waited until after their initial planning brainstorm was done to bring things up (mainly waiting to be sure that Combeferre and Courfeyrac _had_  actually done things in his absence, which they had, carrying on much of their plans from the last school year). He cleared his throat and looked from Combeferre to Courfeyrac. “About Gossip Girl…”

Courfeyrac openly gaped at him. “Do mine ears deceive me? Hast the democratically elected leader of trouble in Paris been reading such scandalous material, despite previous assertions that such a thing was beneath him?”

“I never said beneath me,” Enjolras shot back. “I just said — and maintain — that it’s a waste of time. Which it is. But if the  _people_ are reading it, that makes it important, and something that I need to deal with. Especially this development with Grantaire." He looked from Combeferre to Courfeyrac before asking hesitantly, "So what should I do?"

Combeferre and Courfeyrac exchanged glances, and Enjolras got the feeling that they were having a silent conversation about something. “Maybe try being his friend?” Combeferre suggested. “Yes, I know that he makes things difficult for you sometimes, but he also has been a part of the group for awhile now. Spending some time with him outside of meetings or school may be the best way to make all of this go away.”

Enjolras scowled slightly. “You’re assuming that he wants to spend time with me outside of the meetings or school,” he pointed out.

Courfeyrac snorted and Combeferre shot him a look. “Sorry,” Courfeyrac said hastily, giving Enjolras a charming smile. “I somehow don’t think that will be much of a problem.” He pushed Enjolras’s phone towards him. “Just text him and see if he wants to hang out.”

Rolling his eyes, Enjolras nonetheless picked up his phone to send a text message to Grantaire. [Hey]

[ _Hey_ ]

[Did you want to hang out sometime?]

[ _…why…?_ ]

[A little birdie told me I don’t spend much time with you outside of meetings and school, and I thought maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try]

[ _Combeferre or Courfeyrac?_ ]

[Pardon?]

[ _What was the name of the little birdie?_ ]

[…both of them…]

[ _How much does this have to do with what Gossip Girl said?_ ]

[It has a little to do with it, but the truth is that I don’t know you as well as I know everyone else in Les Amis and, well, that seemed like an oversight on my part.]

[ _I see_ ]

[…So did you want to hang out or not?]

[ _Sure. Coffee tomorrow morning before school? The café just a few blocks over?_ ]

[Sounds good. I’ll meet you there!]

Enjolras looked up to find Combeferre and Courfeyrac watching him raptly. “We’re getting coffee tomorrow morning,” he reported, sliding his phone into his pocket.

Courfeyrac grinned and Combeferre smiled encouragingly. “Good,” Combeferre told him, patting him on the shoulder as he stood up.

Enjolras frowned slightly before asking, “Any advice?”

Courfeyrac and Combeferre exchanged glances, and then Courfeyrac said simply, “Yeah. Don’t tell Gossip Girl.”

* * *

 

Enjolras and Grantaire met for coffee the next day, and things went…surprisingly well. At least, until Enjolras set his empty coffee cup down and asked Grantaire, “So what’s with this ‘Lonely Boy’ thing?”

Grantaire went bright red and instantly looked away, focusing on his coffee cup in front of him. “Look, it’s not a big deal,” he muttered. “I…well, I’ve kind of had a crush on you forever and it’s completely obvious and completely embarrassing and I guess Gossip Girl found out about it.”

Enjolras went very still. “You have a crush on me?”

Glancing up at him incredulously, Grantaire laughed a little hollowly. “Well, I guess it’s obvious to everyone besides you.” He fiddled nervously with his coffee cup. “I don’t expect you to say anything, of course. I mean, it’s not a big deal or anything. I just…yeah.”

There was a long moment of silence as Enjolras mulled over what Grantaire had said. “Are you only at Les Amis because of me?” he asked suddenly.

Grantaire raised an eyebrow at him. “You do realize that the only friends I have in the world are all in Les Amis, right? As much as I may like you, that’s not exactly good enough motivation on its own for me to sit through those meetings sometimes.” Enjolras scowled and Grantaire grinned. “Well, that look on your face is its own motivation sometimes.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. “You know that I can’t say that I…like you back.” Though Grantaire nodded, his shoulders slumped slightly, at least until Enjolras continued, “At least, I can’t say that yet. I wasn’t lying before — I do want to get to know you better. And…who knows what could happen.”

Grantaire stared at him. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it,” he croaked finally.

“Luckily for you, I don’t lie about things like this,” Enjolras said lightly. He glanced down at his watch. “Shit, we’re going to be late for school! Come on.”

Standing quickly, Grantaire muttered, “I’m right behind you”, and he followed him out of the café.

After that first meeting, Grantaire and Enjolras hung out together more frequently over the next few weeks, making a point of grabbing coffee or studying together in the library during study hall. Unsurprisingly, it cut down on tensions during Les Amis meetings, since Grantaire was less inclined to act out and Enjolras less inclined to snap at him when he did.

And Enjolras found that he liked Grantaire — maybe not like that (he really wasn’t sure if he felt like that or not) — but he definitely liked Grantaire as a friend, admired the wit and the humor he didn’t normally get to see. And Grantaire in turn relaxed around Enjolras, showing off more of his natural intelligence and things he had normally squashed under sarcasm and cynicism.

They bickered constantly, but neither of them had expected anything different and besides, in a weird way, they both enjoyed it, Grantaire because of the color red that Enjolras got when he really got going on disputing something, and Enjolras because Grantaire really shined when he was arguing Enjolras’s every point.

Of course, they should have known things wouldn’t last the way they were going. But Enjolras never would have guessed what would have happened to be the turning point in their relationship.

One night during a Les Amis meeting at the Musain, Grantaire was running late and Enjolras was mid-rant, just building up speed into the good part of his speech decrying unfair practices by certain teachers at school and how that played into not only French schools but other IB programs throughout the world.

Suddenly, every single person’s phone dinged or vibrated, and Enjolras stuttered to a halt, glaring at everyone. “What is going on?” he snapped.

Courfeyrac was the first to pull his phone out, and he paled. “Enjolras…look at your phone.”

Though he rolled his eyes, Enjolras pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Gossip Girl?” he snorted, glancing back at Courfeyrac, whose expression was still serious. He looked back down at his phone and read through Gossip Girl’s update.

_Hold on to your berets, Parisians: I have news, and it’s a doozy. The secret of E’s whereabouts this summer is out, and it wasn’t military school or his parents’ yacht. Verifiable sources say Enjolras was spending some good ol’ R &R time in rehab. Drugs, alcohol, sex? E may be a troublemaker, but not normally like this._

_Still, there’s more than one way to rebel, and maybe E got tired of the ‘bad boy doing good’ routine and decided to try ‘good boy doing bad’. Hope this doesn’t hurt the Cause, E — we’d hate to see another downward spiral._

“How the hell did Gossip Girl find this?” Enjolras asked, his voice deathly quiet.

Everyone exchanged nervous glances before Jehan was brave enough to pipe up, “But it’s not true, is it?”

Enjolras waved a dismissive hand. “Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter,” he said impatiently. “This is out there! People are reading this and assuming it’s true. We could launch the biggest public awareness campaign and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and muttered, “This is going to hurt the cause.”

“This isn't going to hurt anything,” Combeferre said firmly. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Enjolras turned on him, eyes flashing dangerously. “How can you say that?” he demanded. “Everything I say will be dismissed because they think I’m a drug addict or a drunk or whatever! This isn’t the kind of scandal that just gets swept under the rug, especially when it involves someone like me, who the general public isn’t hugely fond of as is! We’re going to be the laughing stock of Paris, of the school administration, of everyone we’re trying to reach!”

Combeferre stood, moving to set his hand gently on Enjolras’s shoulder, but Enjolras shrugged him off. “It’s not that bad,” Combeferre insisted. “Enjolras—”

But Enjolras was already gone, shouldering past Combeferre and heading out of the Musain. He was so upset that he almost ran straight into Grantaire, who was just making his way to the meeting. “Enjolras,” Grantaire said, surprised, reaching out to steady him. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Enjolras muttered. “Nothing’s going on.”

“O-kay,” Grantaire said slowly, frowning at Enjolras. “Look, I’m sorry I’m late, but did I miss something?”

Enjolras shook his head, his anger and his frustration spilling over. “You miss everything!” he shouted. “You’re never here on time, you’re never paying attention. Are you good for anything?” Grantaire stared at him with wide eyes and Enjolras felt tears pricking in his eyes. “I have to go,” he blurted, pushing past Grantaire.

Though Enjolras didn’t know where he was going, he knew that he couldn’t be there, couldn’t be dealing with everything. He made his way to the park not too far from the Musain and practically collapsed onto a bench, trying not to cry.

To his surprise, he heard Grantaire clear his throat and looked up at him. “What are you doing here?” Enjolras asked, sounding like he had been crying and hating himself just a little for it.

Grantaire shrugged. “Can I sit down?” he asked quietly, and when Enjolras jerked a shrug, Grantaire sat down next to him. “I saw the Gossip Girl post,” he said, his voice still quiet.

Enjolras shrugged as well. “Whatever,” he muttered. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Clearly it is, or you wouldn’t be out here,” Grantaire pointed out, though his voice was gentle. When Enjolras just shook his head and didn’t answer, Grantaire asked, “If you don’t mind my asking, what’s the big deal?”

“What do you mean?”

Grantaire shrugged. “Anyone who knows you — and let’s be entirely honest here, that’s half of Paris, since you’re kind of a well-known personality — knows that drugs or alcohol aren’t your thing. They’re not going to believe that you’re hiding an addiction or whatever. So why is it a big deal that Gossip Girl published what’s obviously a blatant lie?”

Enjolras shrugged and looked away. “It’s going to sound stupid,” he admitted.

Grantaire nudged him gently in the ribs. “You’re talking to the guy who’s been dubbed to the entirety of Paris as ‘Lonely Boy’,” he reminded him, smiling slightly. “Not a whole lot can sound stupid after that.”

Though Enjolras managed a small smile, it quickly faded. “The truth is that what Gossip Girl published  _wasn’t_  a blatant lie,” he said quietly. “I was in the hospital over the summer. And technically at rehab as well. Not for drugs or alcohol, of course. I, uh, I kind of had a bit of a breakdown at the end of the year.” He could feel the tears start again, and was surprised but gratified when Grantaire reached out to take his hand. “Exhaustion, the doctors said. I was stretching myself too thin and all the responsibilities and the anxiety got to me and I…well, I wasn’t eating or sleeping well and it all just kind of got to me.”

“And the doctor’s recommendation was that you immediately continue your activities after getting out?” Grantaire asked lightly.

Enjolras did manage to crack a smile at that. “No, not quite. He recommended I drop a couple AP courses and some extracurriculars, which I have. But I refused to drop Les Amis, for obvious reasons.” He shrugged and looked away. “Either way, I just…I didn’t want anyone to find out. For better or for worse, I’m a central figure for Les Amis and the movement in general, and to have it be known that I’m…”

He trailed off, unable to come up with the proper word, and Grantaire supplied gently, “Human?”

Enjolras glanced at him and shrugged again. “That’s one word for it,” he muttered. “Either that or weak and unstable, completely unqualified to lead…”

“No one thinks that,” Grantaire told him sincerely. “No one  _would_  think that. Seriously. If anything…well, forgive me for saying so, but it may actually  _help_  Les Amis if people know that it is a group led by a human and not, you know, a robot.”

Smiling slightly, Enjolras asked quietly, “Do you really think so?”

“I  _know_  so. And anyone who disagrees will not only be proven wrong by you being your usual amazing self but by me and Bahorel kicking their ass.”

Enjolras’s smile widened and he shook his head before taking a deep breath and sighing heavily. “Well, whatever happens, it’s out there now. People who care to know the truth will ask, and I suppose I’ll have to tell them the truth. So we’ll see what people think.”

Grantaire nodded and bit his lip, looking suddenly guilty. “I’m sorry,” he blurted, and Enjolras gave him an odd look.

“What are you sorry for? It’s not like this is your fault,” he pointed out reasonably.

Grantaire flushed slightly. “I just mean…I’m sorry that you’re going through this. No one should have to go through something like this, nor should you feel so stressed that you can’t handle things on your own.” He smiled slightly. “Which reminds me, you know you don’t have to go through this alone — either dealing with Gossip Girl or handling Les Amis or anything. All of your friends are behind you and support you, regardless.”

Enjolras glanced over at him, cheeks suddenly pink. “Even you?” he asked, his voice a little husky.

Grantaire half-smiled and said, “Of course. Always.”

There were a lot of things that Enjolras could have said to that, but he settled for leaning in and kissing Grantaire, who looked surprised for a moment before kissing Enjolras back. When they broke apart, Grantaire grinned and said, “You know what this means, right? We owe this to Gossip Girl, on more level than one.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “I think we’ve heard enough from and about Gossip Girl tonight,” he said firmly. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

_Spotted: E and Lonely Boy locking lips and swapping spit. Bravo, Lonely Boy. Looks like you might not be so lonely after all._

_But does E think that hooking up with the lower class will get his own scandal to blow over? And as a better question — will it? Or do you believe that this could really be true love between E and Lonely Boy?_

_Never fear, loyal readers. When things fall apart and E gets his head on straight, we’ll be here. The only thing we love more than a scandalous hookup is the inevitable break up._

_You know you love me._

_XOXO,  
Gossip Girl_


End file.
